The decadal variability of the convective activity in the Labrador Sea is investigated using 43 years of model output from a prognostic coupled ice-ocean model that simulates both the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans. The fields of the surface density and the mixed-layer depth indicate that the center of the convective activity is located in western Labrador Sea. The decadal variations of the convective depth are controlled to large extent by the oceanic preconditioning associated with changes in subsurface stratification. The intensity of the convective mixing varies from year to year, depending upon how strong the isopycnal doming is at the preconditioning stage at the center of the convective region. The variations of the subsurface stratification seem to be related to the subsurface temperature changes.